12 Apr Mike Martinez – 2012 Candidate for Place 6 – Answers to Multi-Environmental Issue Questionnaire

Each 2012 Austin City Council candidate was sent a Multi-Environmental Issue Questionnaire with 28 questions broken into seven subject areas. The questionnaire as well as information about the live, televised May 23rd Election 2012 Green Forum is here.  Below are the written answers submitted for Mike Martinez:

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General

• What do you believe that Austinites think are significant environmental issues? How do you plan to address those?

Clean air and clean water are the keys to a sustained and enjoyable life not just in Austin, but anywhere someone wants to call home. We absolutely have to continue to promote energy and water conservation, work on a plan to close or get out of Fayette, include conservation land acquisition in the upcoming bond election, continue to improve our multi-model transportation system and work on our land development code and Comp Plan so development happens sustainably, responsibly and where it makes the most sense.

I firmly believe we can all play a part in making Austin cleaner, sustainable and more innovative.  I’ve approached our environmental and land use issues from every possible perspective I can think of in the last six years knowing that there isn’t one solution that fits for everyone.  We have to to promote small green steps like providing default double-sided printing and eco-friendly fonts in our document production at the City and also support community garden and urban farm efforts and require things like recycling at city-sponsored events.  I am constantly looking for non-traditional policy areas where we can continue to make a difference.  

I fully supported, and will continue to do so in the future, all of our efforts to acquire open space that is protected from development and have initiated conservation and preservation efforts on Austin’s east side saving historic Oak Springs from development.  I would like to foster a culture of conservation and sustainability on the east side of I-35 as well.  We’ve taken some small steps like what we’ve done so far with the Montopolis Greenbelt and the McElhenney tract, but we can always do more. 

• What positive contributions have you made to environmental efforts in the past?

In the past six years on Council, I have lead or been a co-sponsor of :

• Protection of Oak Springs.
• Single Use Bag ban.
• Creation of an Invasive Species Management Plan.
• Monitoring industrial uses in the ETJ.
• Recycling at City Sponsored Events.
• Alternative Water Management code changes – allowing parking lot runoff to enter medians and borders to reduce irrigation requirements and added water quality.
• Headwaters protection code amendments implementation.
• Creation of the Sustainable Food Policy Board.
• Identifying City Owned property for use as Community Gardens and Urban Farms.
• Green Steps resolution to adopt a city-wide font that uses less ink/toner and default double sided printing on all city copiers/printers.
• Creation of a Greywater Working Group.

 

• What is the role of the sustainability officer and what changes–if any–would you like to see to increase sustainability practices in Austin?

The intended purpose of the Sustainability Officer position is to guide City departments to include sustainable practices in everything they do. For years, Austin has been a leader in land management, conservation and environmental education programs, however we have several departments with duplicative programs or, at times, practices that are in conflict with each other. These need to be coordinated and streamlined to complement our overall community goals for climate protection, water conservation and zero waste.

Specifically, the Sustainability Office should take a more visible role acting as a change agent that incorporates sustainable living with community education into every facet of our municipal actions.  My particular focus, and one I’d like to see the Sustainability Office take more of a leadership role in, is to articulate those simple steps that each of us can take to creating a more sustainable community – from conservation to community gardens.

• What is your strategy for engaging YOUTH and SCHOOLS in sustainability initiatives?

We do conduct a wide range of school education programming, however I do not believe enough has been done to reach the Hispanic and African American communities where we have historically low participation rates for recycling and conservation.  I believe we should be developing outreach programs that are geared to increasing participation from these groups that includes promoting the City’s various energy efficiency and water conservation rebate programs.

I’ve been inspired by some of the community-led programs that I’ve seen since being in office.  Urban Roots has an amazing program that is teaching youth to be leaders, as well as good environmental stewards.  One thing that struck me about their programming is there is a real world/real consequences component I believe has a lasting impression on just about everyone — youth included.  We need more of those opportunities for our youth and should be expanding these programs by making community investments in not just education, but action.

Food

• What steps do you believe the city can take to ensure long-term sustainability of our local food system, including production, marketing and distribution, and preparation and consumption? How can the City make good food easily available and affordable for all of us living in Austin?

I’ve worked hard to help promote and develop the City’s involvement in our local food system. I sponsored the creation of the Sustainable Food Policy Board to provide recommendations to the Council and County Commissioners on how we can assist our growers, restaurants and local retailers each and every day.

Two barriers for community gardens and local growers are land and water availability. To address these barriers, I sponsored a survey of city-owned land to determine tracts that can be used for community gardens and urban farms, and I worked on a resolution that directed the water utility to assist community garden groups and local growers by not charging for the installation of separate water meters which also avoids being charged for wastewater.  I also sponsored a resolution providing much needed start up funding for a community garden in the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood at the RBJ Center. 

Our Community Garden/Urban Farm Coordinator has submitted a grant proposal to develop a urban farm incubator to develop growing strategies to address climate change which I hope will be awarded but if not, I will continue working to find funding.  As I have since its creation, I will continue our work with the Sustainable Food Policy Board, finding creative ways to stretch our available dollars and further the efforts to create a more robust network of gardens and farms. 

Development and Transportation

• How will you take use of resources and resource availability into account when making decisions about local economic development and incentives?

Council Member Riley and I sponsored an item that added a component to our economic development agreement scoring matrix that takes into consideration the location of a prospective employer.  Specifically, we ask whether or not the prospective development is located in one of our Transit Oriented Developments or along Core-Transit corridors.  We have also incorporated a WebLOCI analysis into all of our economic development agreements that factors in both benefits as well as hard and soft costs like infrastructure and public safety prior to any Council vote.  I study these analyses every time we have an economic development agreement that comes before us to ensure we are not taxing our infrastructure or our resources without ensuring we are getting the requisite return on new development. 

• Do you support construction of SH 45 SW? Why or why not?

My preferred method of addressing our congestion and long term transportation needs is by providing alternatives to cars. I believe that is where our money is best spent. I have heard from many residents of neighborhoods along Brodie lane who are concerned with environmental degradation within their neighborhoods and public safety issues due to cut through traffic. All issues should be taken into consideration and if this is a decision comes to the city council, my commitment will be to weigh all issues and not make any final decision until after much more public discussion and deliberation.

• Going forward, what are your plans for improving Austin’s pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure?

Connectivity is perhaps the most glaring gap in our infrastructure today.  We need a comprehensive system of sidewalks, paths and bike lanes that represents a true alternative for folks interested in not using a car to get around town. I have been impressed with the number of bike lanes that have been created in the past two or three years and the Public Works department’s effort to include them as we make road improvements. However, in some cases we have bike lanes and sidewalks on busy roads that are forced to stop. We end up with gaps that push people into vehicle lanes abruptly. In many areas this can be addressed as redevelopment projects happen, the city and developer can share costs to fill these gaps.

We have developed bicycle and sidewalk master plans and I intend to continue to work on prioritizing as much funding as possible to complete those plans through our Capital Improvement Projects as well as Bonds. As Chairman of Capital Metro’s Board, I will ensure that we continue to coordinate with the City on our bus stop and sidewalk construction funding to coincide with priority areas the City is addressing. The private sector also plays a role and I would like to see the City be able to address priority areas at the same time as new development occurs to close gaps and to expand our bike/ped facilities.

At the same time, We must do a better job educating cyclists and motorists on safe practices and the rules of the road. The Street Smarts Task Force recommended the city provide free bicycle safety training classes and if re-elected, I am more than willing to work with my colleagues to see how we can include this in our next budget cycle.  An option we might consider is to add to our City Legislative Agenda direction of our governmental relations staff to work at the State level with DPS to include bicycle/car safety as part of statewide driver education training.

•  Campaign finance reports for Council candidates are not due until the end of April, after Early Voting starts. In the past, candidates have made environmental promises which some believe were undermined by the influence of political donations. In the interest of disclosure and transparency, will you tell us who is bundling contributions for your campaign?

                        I am proud of my commitment to the environment and feel the efforts that I have lead or been part of reflect it and that will not change. If you have seen my reports, you know I have gone above and beyond reporting requirements listing all bundlers as well as those contributions that came from each bundler. No contributor, supporter, endorser or bundler is given any assurance of my position as a council member other that my full consideration of issues that come before us.

• What will you do to create or attract high-wage, family-supporting green jobs to the Austin and Central Texas areas? What will you do to ensure that hard-to-reach populations and communities of color have access to these green jobs?

In the next budget cycle, I would like to work with community environmental stakeholders to develop a proposal that would increase the fees for our 60 and 90 gallon trash receptacles and direct the additional funds for developing a green job incubator. This proposal would provide direction to staff to solicit proposals from a broad spectrum of technology sectors to ensure we are helping create jobs for all incomes.

• Politicians often say they are against suburban sprawl – yet they approve water and sewer lines and zoning changes that create it. How are you different? How will you ensure that development pays for itself, i.e. the extension of water and wastewater lines? Do you support or oppose giving a discount on electric and water rates to ratepayers living outside the city? Why or why not?

I have supported density in the central City as well as along our core transit corridors and in many instances the zoning changes associated with those cases have been opposed by the neighborhoods adjacent to them. Service extension request are difficult to deny because of the State Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCNs).  When they have come up over the aquifer, I’ve supported requiring the developments to comply with SOS regulations.

I do not support giving discounts to ratepayers outside the city due to the costs required to provide the service.

• Between urban rail, expanding the current light rail system, bus rapid transit, a monorail system or HOV lanes on major roadways, toll lanes which transportation options do you believe would be best and worst for Austin and why?

Having a comprehensive, multi-modal transportation system should always be our goal.  We must continue providing alternatives to single occupancy vehicles but our options are limited.  I am less interested in HOVs and managed toll lanes than I am in expanding our current Red Line, implementing urban rail and bus rapid transit. 

Our existing Red line is considered a commuter line and I’ve been proud to help expand its service and ridership since its launch. I look forward to Bus Rapid Transit operating in 2014 in conjunction with shifting transit to Lavaca and Guadalupe downtown to allow faster service.  As Chairman of Capital Metro I have worked to address long standing issues with financial deficiencies, providing the best service possible and getting the Red Line up and running. I believe we’ve made great progress but there is more to be done.  I do not believe we know enough about monorail in Austin to say whether or not its feasible.  It’s clear to me that the infrastructure costs would present a significant challenge. Ultimately, our transit system of the future is dependent upon our tax payers support and votes for bond funding. I remain 100% in support of expanding our public transit system and look forward to our continued efforts in that regard.

• As more families are forced to move further out of Austin to find housing they can afford, our traffic is becoming more congested, earning us another distinction as the third most congested city in America and our air quality deteriorates as a result. What would you do to address these interconnected issues? How would you help more residents secure affordable housing in the city?

I am a strong advocate of affordable housing, and have been since I was elected.  Affordability and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.  In our last bond package, we allocated $55 million to affordable housing and found that was not nearly enough to address our current needs.  I believe affordable housing is a community priority that we must continue to address. I would also enlist your members’ support as we move forward with projects.

Often times we find that as potential projects evolve, adjacent neighbors are opposed to implementing our community priorities and providing for affordable housing in the urban core. I would welcome your members to join us in garnering the necessary support to get projects completed.   

• Do you believe that the Formula 1 deal is an “historic agreement” for sustainability? Please explain why or why not. What are your concerns around Formula 1 and what should be done to mitigate the impacts?

I believe that the job creation and economic benefits of Formula 1 are compelling and the work that was done by Council Member Riley and my office to ensure the events and facility are committed to making themselves sustainable garnered my support. What wasn’t discussed during the deliberations was that the Formula 1 site was approved by the County for a small lot subdivision with 2000 homes. I believe that on an annual basis, the carbon footprint of that development would far surpass what the Circuit of the Americas will produce.

Zero Waste

• The City Council has passed a plan to reach 90% diversion of our discards from landfills by 2030 and 95% by 2040. Would you support any changes to the Zero Waste plan?  Phase 1 of the Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO) requires all multifamily buildings, office buildings, and institutional properties in the City to recycle. In Phase 2, the City will add a citywide policy for diverting compostables. Phase 3 will include single-family residences in the requirement to recycle and compost. Do you support all three phases of this ordinance?

I support the plan as written and adopted but remain open to considering improvements and strengthening.

 

• Do you believe Austin should ban certain problem materials, such as styrofoam, to keep them out of our waste stream? If so, which materials should we target? If not, how will you deal with problem materials?

As I showed with my commitment to banning plastic bags, I am more than willing to consider other problem materials. As with the plastic bag ban, the solutions came out of extensive discussion, community conversation and research.  I think this was a prudent, if lengthy, approach that ensured community and stakeholder participation.  This is a model we should replicate and I am happy to lead the discussion regarding other problematic materials. 

Water, Streams and Trees

• The health of Barton Springs and its aquifer are always a concern to us. How would you use land acquisition to protect the aquifer? How much would you allocate for this purpose in upcoming bond packages? What new ideas do you have to stop pollution of our waters?

I am committed to supporting as much funding as feasibly possible in the upcoming bond package for land acquisition. I believe we should maximize our efforts to acquire open space by coordinating our efforts with the County, Texas Nature Conservancy, Hill Country Conservancy and Willbarger Creek Conservation Alliance.  Eastern Travis County is also under great pressure and we must be mindful of protecting its open space and ever dwindling blackland prairie areas.

Quite honestly, since WTP 4 I haven’t heard from most environmental groups regarding new ideas but I have been impressed with what our Watershed staff is doing with rain gardens, bio-swales and other alternative water management approaches.

• Austin’s residential water rates are among the highest in Texas, and unless Water Treatment Plant 4 is put on the shelf, the cost of water will continue to rise. How will you stop the increase in Austin’s residential water rates?

Affordable utility rates are a priority for me. I believe the Council has been provided the necessary information to determine that if we put WTP 4 on the shelf, we’ll dramatically increase water rates. The value of water is a conversation we need to have as a community.  Right now, the first 1000 gallons of water costs residential users $1.17. A discussion about whether or not that is an appropriate price point should be the starting point for a discussion about the rising cost of water. 

• We’re in one of the worst droughts in Texas history yet we are still watering our lawns. What stronger measures do you see as necessary to conserve water beyond the city’s current goals? How do we get to 140 GCPD or less?

We should consider amending the criteria for our water use restrictions, to determine if timelines should be adjusted up.  As in the previous question, we should be doing everything we can to ensure that homeowners have the ability to xeriscape and switch to drought tolerant grass without fearing fines and penalties from deed restrictions in their neighborhoods.  While this isn’t a universal phenomenon, this is something that many newer developments and communities are requiring.

• Austin has lost thousands of trees during the recent drought, posing a serious threat to our urban forests. What will you do on the Council to protect and replenish these forests? How do these concerns figure into your priorities when it comes to drought response?

The city’s Austin Community Trees program is good program to help neighborhoods address adding trees and educating residents on their long term care and benefits. Unfortunately, we have many programs like this that are not being utilized at the maximum levels.

• The City of Austin is currently engaged in a public input process to amend the Watershed Protection Ordinance to help preserve east side creeks. Based on this input the Watershed Protection Department will probably recommend headwater setback buffers to be set at 64 acres in east Austin and the ETJ. Would you support or oppose allowing developers to use expanded creek protection setbacks as part of their Park Land dedication requirements?

As a co-sponsor to this initiative, I fully support the measure.  I look forward to hearing the recommendations from the Stakeholder process and will track it as it moves through the Boards and Commissions. I support buffers that provide the necessary elements to ensure water quality and erosion control. I would also welcome any and all input from your members as to what those elements should include.

Air

• What air improvement strategy or set of strategies would you advocate to help clean our air? How can the City leverage its purchasing power to impact air quality?

Establishing a viable multimodal system is absolutely vital to our future success as a city, we must continue our efforts in increasing public transportation service and use. This is a regional effort and we will need help from our surrounding communities to make it a success.

I also support going beyond coal but cannot commit to any date certain until our study is complete and we have all the information possible to make such a policy decision. We must also remain steadfast in creating a distributed system that will provide the equivalent amount of energy and also allow us to avoid some of the reliability issues of the ERCOT grid.

We must also thing bolder and broader. I will propose a new coalition of public and private stakeholders to join in and create a natural gas conversion plan that will serve to improve our attainment status and cleaning our air of the #1 source of pollution in Austin.

• Pure Casting Foundry emits toxic metals and carcinogenic compounds/particles through the manufacturing process of steel and aluminum products. Residents have registered odor complaints from this facility and others, most of which are located East of IH 35. The TCEQ has installed an air quality monitor on top of Zavala Elementary, which is located directly south of Pure Castings. Would you support the passage of an air quality nuisance ordinance as part of the solution? Also, What steps would you take to relocate this facility in order to protect the health of the children at Zavala Elementary and area residents?

I fully support an air quality nuisance ordinance.  However, it is unclear to me whether the introduction of a new ordinance can apply to an existing facility.  We must ensure that our intended outcome of any new ordinance is achieved.

As the first council member to engage Pure Casting and attempt to problem solve, we worked to engage TCEQ and implement a monitoring station at Zavala that is still taking readings today.  The intention is to gain data to warrant action. 

Relocation of Pure Casting finds its stumbling block in the financial cost to relocate.  We’ve considered Noise Mitigation properties surrounding the Airport as new locations for the operation but the cost to move and construct the new facility are very significant. A bond proposal specific to moving this operation in conjunction with city owned land is a consideration I am willing to support.

Energy and Austin Energy

• Fayette finally has sulfur dioxide scrubbers installed after many years of delay. Fayette doesn’t have SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology to reduce NOx emissions that contribute to ozone. Fayette has not installed the technology to control the fine particles (PM2.5) that cause premature deaths and asthma attacks within a few hundred miles. Do you support getting Austin out of Fayette, and off of fossil fuels and nuclear power altogether? How do you propose that we do so?

I support the City of Austin divesting itself both from Fayette and removing our dependence on coal.  Our study of the possible solutions to those goals has not been completed and we cannot make an informed policy decision until we have all the information possible. Factors that must be considered are the cost to rate payers, stability of supply, and financial health of Austin Energy and the City.

We must also remain steadfast in creating a distributed system that will provide the equivalent amount of energy and also allow us avoid some of the reliability issues of the ERCOT grid. Increasing our renewable energy production beyond 35% is something I support and will be willing to work with you to figure out what that looks like while making sure it is affordable.

• As the board of directors for Austin Energy, the City Council sets environmental policy for our electric utility. What are your environmental priorities for Austin Energy for the next 3 years? What will you do to increase energy efficiency savings so that we meet our 300 Megawatt savings goal by 2020? Proposed hikes to minimum charges are a disincentive to conservation. Will you raise minimum charges for residential users, and if so, by how much?

Our rate structure should reward conservation and not hit the smallest users hardest. That is why I joined my Council colleagues in delaying the rate adoption in order to have a better understanding of AE’s revenue requirements and whether we can retain the utility’s viability while ensuring affordability. The specific changes I would make to staff's current proposal are growth and expansion assumptions. While I do believe we need to plan for the future, those plans must be based in reality and sound data and not mere projections for growth and demand.

I also support increasing funding to our weatherization and energy efficiency programs and believe we should explore how we can make PACE work in Austin. I welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can get there.

• Currently Austin's water rates have 5 tiers. The lowest "lifeline tier" is less than 10% of the highest tier. Do you support a similar rate structure for Austin's electric utility?

We must have a rate structure that incentivizes conservation and provides for programs that assist our low income residents. Revenue from our utilities should be a benefit we receive as a result of providing a service not the driving force for a rate structure.

• The City Council adopted the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure ordinance in 2008 as a key component of the Climate Protection Program, with the goal of retrofitting older properties with energy efficiency measures at the point of sale. The program has not yet lived up to expectations, with only 5% of properties sold retrofitted. Would you support mandating some energy efficiency improvements when a home is sold?

As this ordinance was adopted, the council acted to ensure a baseline of current existing conditions could be quantified. We must review this data to determine if more can be done to increase point of sale improvements and I look forward to continuing these efforts. 

• What role does rooftop solar energy have in Austin’s renewable energy mix?

The role of rooftop solar in the future is absolutely critical to our utilities’ and community’s success. In discussions with the solar industry, I understand their desire for a long term commitment of funding for our rebate program. I also believe there are cooperative strategies that installers can use to reduce their photovoltaic costs and make commercial projects viable without incentives. Residential projects still need our support, and I am interested in studying and engaging advocates to determine how community solar could work.